MacBooks, Mavericks Extend Apple Reach: Rich Jaroslovsky

Mavericks is available as a free download from the Apple Inc. App Store for Macs running any of the three most recent editions of the operating system. Source: Apple Inc. via Bloomberg

Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- When the same company controls the
hardware, software and services, it’s called “owning the
stack.” And no one does it like Apple.

Take the new version of OS X, the Mac’s operating system,
called Mavericks after a fabled California surfing spot. Coupled
with a new generation of the flagship MacBook Pro laptop, it
provides the most powerful and polished experience in computing
these days.

That’s if you find its completely Apple-centric environment
comforting rather than stifling and can afford the pricey
hardware.

As OS X upgrades go, the most noteworthy thing about
Mavericks may be its price: There isn’t one.

The previous version of OS X cost $20, which was still much
less than Microsoft charges for its major Windows upgrades.
Mavericks, though, is available as a free download from the App
Store for Macs running any of the three most recent editions of
the operating system. (Those are Snow Leopard, Lion and Mountain
Lion.)

I’ve been using Mavericks on three Macs: the newly released
13.3-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display, where it came pre-loaded, and recent-vintage models of the iMac and MacBook Air,
where I installed it myself.

Bumpy Upgrade

Neither of the upgrades went entirely smoothly. The Air
stopped in mid-download, informing me that “an error has
occurred” without specifying what the error was. (I was able to
resume the process with no ill effects, however.)

And the iMac upgrade came to a screeching halt with a
warning that my system was corrupted and I should immediately
back up all my data, wipe the drive clean and mix a stiff drink.
(OK, I made up that last part.)

I ignored the warning and tried again. This time, Mavericks
installed without a hitch, and has been humming along for more
than two weeks with nary a performance glitch. After examining
logs from my computer, Apple said my experience was likely an
anomaly.

The new operating system introduces two important apps,
both migrating from Apple’s iPads and iPhones: iBooks and Maps.

The books app works exactly the way it does on iOS devices.
Purchases from the iBooks store can be stored in the cloud or
locally, and bookmarks, highlights and notes are synced across
all devices, so you can pick up on the Mac exactly where you
left off on an iPad.

Memos, Papers

You may not read the great American novel on your Mac, but
it’s certainly useful for memos, school papers and the like.

Maps is similarly integrated through Apple’s cloud
services. Look up a location on the Mac and you can send the
directions straight to your iPhone, where they automatically
launch the Maps app.

While it’s all very neat and seamless, it also points up
what some people see as a major issue with the Apple ecosystem:
While both iBooks and Maps are improving, neither is remotely
the best of breed in its category.

Those honors belong to, respectively, Amazon.com’s Kindle
family of apps and content and Google Maps. Both are available
for Apple devices, but without the same level of integration,
forcing you into a choice between quality and convenience.

Mavericks features a number of small but welcome
enhancements, including the ability to assign tags to help
locate related files, and recommendations for hard-to-crack
passwords that are remembered by Apple’s iCloud Keychain
service.

Extended Life

Laptop buyers, though, will be more interested in how it
works with Intel’s latest microprocessors, called Haswell, to
extend battery life on the updated MacBook Pros. The answer is:
very nicely.

While Apple claims the new 13.3-inch model can go for up to
nine hours between charges, I exceeded 10 without much
difficulty. Apple puts the battery life of the updated 15.4-inch
version at eight hours.

The new MacBook Pros are less expensive than their
predecessors: Prices are 9 percent to 13 percent below
comparable models from a year ago. Moreover, in a shot across
Microsoft’s bow, Apple is now including its iWorks productivity
suite, its answer Microsoft Office, with new Macs, along with
its iLife photo, video and music apps.

Even with lower prices and bundled software, though, no one
will describe the new MacBooks as value-priced. The 13.3-inch
model starts at $1,299. My test unit, with eight gigabytes of
memory and 256 gigabytes of fast flash storage, costs $1,499.
The 15.4-inch version starts at $1,999.

Taken together, the MacBooks, Mavericks and the newly
bundled applications -- knit together with the iPad-iPhone
universe through Apple’s cloud services -- create a start-to-finish experience that no competitor can match.

(Rich Jaroslovsky is a Bloomberg News columnist. The
opinions expressed are his own.)

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